The Next Big Things

Portland is set to experience a huge year in music, with several long-anticipated big-name albums scheduled to drop in the next few months. But in this city, the year is often made by artists who sneak up on us. So we asked local music insiders who we should keep an eye out for in 2015. 

"Led by the powerful, soulful, sultry voice of Andrea Vidal, Holy Grove is primed to crack the hard-rock scene wide open in 2015. Fans of Deep Purple and Grand Funk will find cause to rejoice." —Nathan Carson, WW contributor

"Drae Steves created crazy buzz with his 2014 mixtape Unfinished Business, excelling in gangsta rap that refused neither to celebrate nor put down the life he's known. His follow-up, Unfinished Business 2, is on the way in 2015." —Mac Smiff, We Out Here blog

"Ghost Feet is another incredible talent from the impeccable Dropping Gems roster. These two have an LP in the pipeline that is definitely going to make an impact. Rachel's guitar work is beautiful, intricate and powerful, while Calvin's surgical beat tracks provide a grounding for the tunes, preventing them from being overly cerebral. They bring elements of dance music to places you wouldn't expect." —Zak DesFleurs, Club Chemtrail

"Nicole Glover plays with, well, just about everyone.  Holding a seat in Barra Brown's Quintet, Ural Thomas and the Pain, and George Colligan's myriad projects as well as seemingly endless other side gigs—including the occasional session with Esperanza Spalding—she occupies the first chair on woodwinds for almost all the contemporary jazz and soul groups worth mentioning in Portland.  A brilliant soloist, look for her to shine brighter still in 2015.” —Parker Hall, WW contributor

"Guitar-and-drum noise-rock duo A Volcano might refer to themselves as 'cave noise,' but it's more like a cave party. It's primitive, it's loud and it's just uncomfortable enough at times to keep you from settling in before getting blasted with almost-danceable beats. But don't worry—there's no shortage of sludge riffs, either." —Cat Jones, WW contributor

"Jesus Miranda processes the gray of Portland's darker days into high-energy tracks that follow in a fine tradition of Northwest rockers like Death Cab for Cutie, the Wipers and Built to Spill." —Arya Imig, Faces on the Radio podcast

"Tyler Tastemaker is easily one of my favorite DJs in Portland and probably one of the realest DJs I've met in the game, period. I've seen him consistently turn dance floors into full-blown parties time after time. He's also been steady working on his debut release as a producer, and from what I've heard of it, that's going to make you want to move, too." —Cory Haynes, STYLSS

"A little over a year ago, krautrock trio Wax Fingers lost a member and shut down briefly, only to roar back as Mothertapes a short while later. Not since Helio Sequence has Portland seen a duo produce such dense, digitally accented prog rock." —Mark Stock, WW contributor

"Fli Boi Moe is the right-hand man of Mikey Vegaz and has been setting the bar high lyrically and carving a lane for himself as another one of the city's bright young stars." —Cool Nutz

“The Last Artful Dodgr’s 2013 mixtape, 199NVRLND, was one of the best Portland releases that not nearly enough people here heard.  Easily one of the most unique voices I’ve heard, not just locally either.” —Kenny Fresh, FRSH SLCTS

"Splitting her time between Mexico City and Portland, it's no wonder Sofía Acosta, aka Coast2C, has picked up influences from different parts of the world. In her DJ sets, a cumbia shuffle transitions to trap remixes of Drake to Mexican house music and back again. Acosta's talent behind the decks is so profound it’s easy to overlook because of how smooth her sets are.” —Mitch Lillie, WW contributor 

WWeek 2015